Bright Lights
by BellaMay76
Summary: Songfic one shot based on the MatchBox 20 song of the same title. Pairing that doesn't have many fics on here.


***Yet another distraction from "Shoes" but I promise a new chapter for it by this Saturday. I would say Friday but I'm not sure if I will have the strength after my CLAY DAY!! Kelly Clarkson and my man Clay Aiken will be having a concert this Thursday and of course, my darling husband bought me 4 tickets for it for Valentine's Day. Hope you enjoy this one. It's a little offbeat and inspired once again from a song by MatchBox 20, "Bright Lights." R/R and let me know what'cha think!!  
  
Bright Lights  
  
He laid his head in his hands and grabbed at the silvery grey strands that normally lay thick and still on his rather blockish head. It had only been a month, and already his world was screeching to a halt. He never thought she'd really do it.  
  
That she would leave him.  
  
She got out of town  
  
On a railway New York bound  
  
The girl had accidentally left a copy of the play bill on the coffee table. At least he thought it was by accident. Maybe not. Maybe it was simply to remind him of what he did and why she was gone.  
  
It wasn't so much that she had succeeded in pursuing one of her great past loves, acting. It was surprising that she landed her first audition. No, what really hurt was reading her name in print, sans her married name.  
  
Miriam A. Martin  
  
Took all except my name  
  
Another alien on Broadway  
  
He thought working long hours was what made a marriage. It surely did well to build his beeper empire. Why didn't he see her life drain slowly from her veins as the years went on? Why didn't he notice the ever increasing need for smoothies, worse yet, why didn't he notice when she quit?  
  
Oh he did. When it was too late to do anything about it.  
  
Some things in this world you just can't change  
  
Some things you don't see until it gets too late  
  
It took about a week before the laundry piled up and the groceries ran dry. It took only one night, however, to feel how cold and desolate their sheets felt without her warm, tiny frame curled against his bulk.  
  
"Oh Daddy, I'm here! Everything will be fine!" his oldest daughter had exclaimed, breezing in and making everything homey again. Fresh shirts and potato dumplings did not a home make. Somehow, it was a far cry from the days when his wife was there. He never knew it was HER love that kept him safe from the cares of this world.  
  
Baby, baby, baby When all your love is gone Who will save me From all I'm up against out in this world?  
  
"She had to do it, Dad. Give her time. She'll come to her senses," the girl had told him after 3 weeks of watching him mope around the house. "If you're lucky," she'd whispered to herself, not knowing he'd heard every word and knew it was true.  
  
If he was lucky.  
  
Maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you You should turn yourself around and come on home  
  
He spent a few weeks at the local pub, trying to convince himself that she'd be back. His tough veneer began crumbling almost immediately, however, and he found himself sharing his sob story to other lonely bar patrons, anyone who would listen.  
  
Listen about the hollow place in his chest where his heart used to be.  
  
I've got a hole in me now Yeah I've got a scar I can talk about  
  
When he first saw the black and white picture of her beaming in a review she'd mailed to Helga, he couldn't get over how beautiful and young she looked, an angelic mixture of both their girls. He felt his chest tighten, but then he saw it, way in the back of the photo.  
  
Their wedding picture adorned the roll top desk in the corner. She still thought of him. Did she still love him?  
  
She keeps a picture of me In her apartment in the city  
  
He paced the subway lobby at least thirty times before boarding the compartment. He wasn't even sure this was a good idea. What if she scoffed at him? What if she laughed in his face?  
  
He caught a glimpse of himself in the ticket window at that instance, and saw a gray old man, a little thinner around the face and middle, with deep creases in his eyes and brow.  
  
It was worth a shot.  
  
"Let's go, Dad," Helga placed a small hand in his large clumsy one, surprising him from behind. In her remaining hand she clutched a matching ticket and small pink carry on bag. Despite himself, he felt a tear of gratitude travel down his worn cheek.  
  
"Thanks, girl" he muttered, choked with emotion at her sudden show of support.  
  
Some things in this world, man, they don't make sense Some things you don't need until they leave you They're the things that you miss  
  
The train ride was surprisingly short, a mere 40 minutes from the dusky blue walk up that was once the home they shared together. His silvery eyes looked up at the marquee. His breath caught in his throat.  
  
"You can do this, Dad. You have to," Helga urged, pulling at his coat sleeve impatiently.  
  
"Uh, I don't know, girl. What will it matter? She left US! Why should I even try?"  
  
"Because.." Helga hesitated. "You'll die without her."  
  
Baby, baby, baby, When all your love is gone Who will save me From all I'm up against out in this world  
  
Well yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you You should turn yourself around and come on home  
  
The lights had barely dimmed in the huge hall when she came into view. She glowed like an angel, her face radiant with passion and renewed faith. It was like she was at home on the stage.  
  
Let that city take you in (Come on home)  
  
Her piece finished, and deafening applause followed. He wished they would boo, but knew she was deserving of their praise, praise he should have given her all these years. If only they would reject her too, then maybe she'd want to leave.  
  
Let that city spit you out (Come on home)  
  
They waited together by the stage exit door, huddled together in the bitter October wind. A few stray flakes of snow had just begun to swirl when the door creaked open. She looked right past the both of them, her sparkling blue eyes trained on the nearing taxi ahead of them. She hadn't seen them at all.  
  
"Do something!" Helga jabbed him with her elbow. His throat felt tight as steel corset, but he squeaked it out somehow.  
  
Let that city take you down..  
  
God sakes, Turn around!  
  
"Miriam Annabelle Pataki, I love you!" He repeated into the wind, this time strong and loud. Although he was always considered a brusque and careless man, his words were edged with raw emotion and a strange tenderness.  
  
The small figure wrapped in a lavender trench coat halted dead in her tracks, her hand poised above the now open door of the cab.  
  
"B? What are you doing here?" She turned ever so slightly in the direction of her estranged husband and nearly grown youngest daughter, although she didn't see Helga at that precise moment. Her eyes were cemented on him.  
  
"Come home, Miriam. Please, I can't live without you. I know now I've been a fool. I don't know how I could ever begin to make it up to you, but I can promise you this: lots and lots of quantity time and...and all of my love, forever," he blushed at his own words, despite being married to the woman in front of him for well over 25 years. He was rarely this open with her in the past.  
  
Baby, baby, baby When all your love is gone Who will save me From all I'm up against out in this world  
  
Her lips twitched lightly at the use of "quantity" in place of quality, but she kept a straight face.  
  
"I don't know, B. I've made a name for myself here. For the first time in a very long time, I'm adored. What makes you think you can really change?"  
  
Maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something that's enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you...  
  
"I know I can change. I already have because in truth Miriam, I will surely shrivel up and die without you," he spoke boldly, taking a tentative step forward.  
  
"Are you goin' or what, lady? Meter's running!" The cabbie shot in agitation at the open door of his vehicle.  
  
"Well?" Bob murmured hopefully. His eyes searched hers desperately. What would he do if she turned around?  
  
A heavy sigh escaped her still painted lips, just seconds before she crushed them unexpectedly against his thin, dry ones. His arms swiftly encircled her tiny waist in a vice like grip, only to feel his slender daughter snake in between them and bury herself against her mother fiercely.  
  
"Let's go home," Miriam said simply.  
  
Turn yourself around, yeah, come on home Baby, baby, baby come on home  
  
********The End! What do you think? Fluff, angst.....I tried for the whole package! Hope you like! 


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